Partisanship Getting Worse: It Is All About Perceived Fairness

It is clear that meaningful and dignified conversations are hard to come by.  A good political conversation without leading to blows, shouting or even profanity is a rare event.  I contend that the media are to blame due to the long-term lack of fairness.  It started back in the 60's, but did not start creating contention until the backlash was initiated in the late '80's.  It has been an ever increasing chasm of civility ever since.

All Americans value fairness.  It is naturally human to want fairness and equity in life.  If the American public viewed the mainstream media (MSM) outlets as fair, Fox News would not be a dominant news channel.  If a person sees events as being fair, there is a sense of decorum.  Even if negative events occur, if they are deemed as being judged fairly, then emotions are held in check.  For instance, if someone steals your car.  You are mad.  If the person gets caught and put in jail, you are annoyed, but your emotions are more subdued.  Justice was served.  That is the same thing happening in today's media.  Americans believe the MSM is not fair and key facts and perspectives are ignored.  Thus, they are mad.  The advent of alternative media such as talk radio, internet and Fox News become the method of delivering justice.

The liberal media controlled the message in the 1960's.  Network news had a monopoly.  They had everything their way.  What the network anchors said was gospel.  No one considered countering that message.  It would not have been appropriate.  Even if there was a counter to the networks, where would it get any coverage, interest or facts to generate a message contrary to the networks? 

Slowly, but surely, another voice was bound to be let loose.  Talk radio and Fox News created news outlets that counter the liberal mainstream mantra.  The success of Fox News proves the pent up demand for this type of news source.  Meanwhile, multiple events added up to announce the end of the mainstream monopoly.  Corrections of mainstream reporting by internet bloggers, breaking stories from internet sources, plagiarism, completely ignored news events and blatantly false reporting created the demise of the liberal stronghold on the nation's thoughts.

There is no longer one authoritative source.  As much as network news would like to be considered the reference point for news, that is just not true anymore.  However, no one seems to have told the mainstream media.  After being in control for so many years, the media are unable to acknowledge or comprehend their lack of power.  The MSM perspective is that things are not fair anymore.  They need their sense of justice restored.  This results in programming and decisions that reflect the MSM view of fairness.  Justice to MSM outlets is to never have to hear about Fox News or Rush Limbaugh unless it is in a pejorative sense.

Thus, the mainstream outlets have only gone more liberal.  They simply refuse to even report on events if they have been scooped by the bloggers or Fox News.  They refuse to acknowledge events that do not fit their ideology.  As such, Americans take notice, they get more upset and MSM ratings continue to decline.  A good solution would be for the MSM to generate a more fair stance on all reportable events, but for some reason that might be considered admitting defeat.  So, the opposite occurs.  The MSM does one of two things: 1) Lash out at the alternative media (which is insulting to the people they want to gain as viewers) or 2) Ignore them in hopes that they will go away (which is even more insulting).  Both are recipes for continued failure.  Americans continue to see even more unfairness and emotions get more accentuated.  The cycle continues and has continued for a decade.  The lack of civility gets worse.

The best way to get civility back is to get the MSM to cover all perspectives in their reporting.  This would also concurrently start to get their ratings back on track.  I am sure they believe they are covering the proper topics, but when three liberal editors review the day's news pages, the outcome will only be a liberal result.  Hire conservative editors and give them authority to make changes and decisions.  This will draw the demand for all perspectives from the alternative sources.  A smart business person would make these changes, but apparently there are no smart business people in charge at NBC, ABC or CBS.

Are we better off?  In short, the answer is: Yes, all perspectives are on display.  However, it comes at a cost.  That cost is civility.